The writer – Personal Brand Series

You could easily say that Sara is a serious writer: she’s a published author, prolific blogger and a talented copywriter.

Let me elaborate: not only has this writer made herself a name as a successful blogger with a chunky following. She is writing her second book and has branched out as a content writer for your blog – in your own voice! On top of that she is currently making herself a name helping non-native English writing bloggers anglicise their writing. My last sentence makes total sense to me, but now I’d need Sara to check it through!

Let’s hear what this content writer and author has to say about personal brand…

What’s the one thing that you excel at, that you do better than anyone else?

My super-power is to be able to write in other people’s voice. Well, let me explain. I’m a great listener, I put myself in other people’s shoes, and I have a strong analytical mind. I’m also very curious and absolutely love learning and writing. Put that all together and if you’re a business owner who either doesn’t enjoy writing or doesn’t have time for it, you’ll find that I can probably do it for you. Obviously, I can’t write about anything and everything, but my niche is quite broad at the moment. I work with clients who have mainly service-related, B2C businesses in the lifestyle, parenting, and health and well-being spaces.

List the three most important principles you live by

My three most important principles are honesty, professionalism, and determination.

Honesty because I don’t have time for mind games. And frankly, I’m rubbish at them. Trying to be someone you’re not is just exhausting, in my opinion. So my approach is to always be open and honest. It backfires sometimes, but, as I said, I don’t really know how to be someone I’m not! Overall, I think it pays off though – it allows me to build deeper and stronger connections with people.

Professionalism is also very important to me. I’ll always try to do what I say I’m going to do. If someone trusts me with a job, whatever that might be, I always try to put 100% into it, even if it means stressing myself out and putting myself under a lot of pressure over it (which I realise isn’t always great, but I’m working on that!).

And the last principle is determination. I don’t really believe in giving up, and I think if you’re determined enough to get somewhere, you’ll get there. If you stay motivated and keep going or adjusting when things don’t work out, you’ll get there, whatever ‘there’ may be for you.

Do you keep hearing the same compliment? What is it?

The compliment I hear all the time is that I write really well and that you wouldn’t know English isn’t my first language. Considering I’m now making a living with my writing (and writing for native English speakers, no less), I’m quite grateful about getting this particular compliment all the time!

Why do people seek you out?

People normally seek me out for one of two things. Either to take care of their writing so it magically appears where it needs to, and they get time back to do what lights them up in their business, or to help them edit their writing and make it sound ‘more English’. This second request often comes from non-native English speakers, so I’m looking for a way to formalise the way I help people like me who don’t speak English as their native language.

List three words that describe you, how do people introduce you?

I’d say the words that come to mind are knowledgeable, trustworthy, and dedicated. Knowledgeable is something that comes up a lot for me. After all, I do love reading and learning – I think I’m slightly addicted to books, and when I’m not learning something new, I get bored. So if a topic interests me, I do end up accumulating a fair bit of knowledge about it, and I love sharing it! Teaching is definitely another passion of mine.

People also describe me as trustworthy and dedicated because I care about doing things well, so I listen to what people really want and always to give them what they need. To be fair, this is almost second nature to me. I worked as a Business Analyst for 11 years, and gathering and documenting complex business requirements from different sources was my day job! I’ve had a lot of practice in listening to people and their needs.

What’s the secret sauce you add to your working life?

Deep connections. I’m an introvert and don’t particularly like being centre-stage. I find large groups of people fairly intimidating, but put me in a one-to-one situation with someone, and over time I’ll build a strong rapport with them. That’s why I prefer working with a few regular clients – it allows me to build stronger relationship with them, really understand their brand and what they stand for, and in turn, do better work for them. It’s a win-win, right?

What makes your heart beat faster? What gives you energy?

The excitement that comes from learning something new, especially if it’s something you’ve been trying to work out for a while and you finally crack it! I sound like a proper geek, don’t I? But it’s true, learning gives me energy. When I stop learning I get bored and deflated and tend to move on to something else. I’ve not always liked that about myself, but when I combine it with my determination and my love for teaching, I know I can really help other people in my journey, and that’s all I can ask for.